After one of the biggest highsides you’re ever likely to see during the warm up session of the Indonesian GP, and the subsequent bang on the head causing his diplopia* to flare up again, doctors have decided it’s best for Marc Marquez to sit the next round of the MotoGP World Championship out.
Repsol Honda PR people are keen to stress the fact that he’s definitely made ‘favourable improvements’, but he’s still obviously too poorly to race.
His doctor, Dr Sanchez Dalmau said
The second neuro-ophthalmological evaluation carried out on Marc Marquez this past Monday has shown a very favourable evolution in the paralysis of the fourth right nerve affected by the fall that occurred at the Indonesian Grand Prix. Recovery is not yet complete, and Marc Marquez must follow the established therapeutic regime with conservative treatment.
Marc’s family must be absolutely petrified and at their wit’s end with him. Even I’m worried for the lad and I’ve never met him. It’s incredible to see someone pushing so hard, and it’s every time he gets on the bike. In fact it’s quite inspirational, really. But it’s dangerous. It’s so dangerous. There’s only so many 100mph+ highsides you can get away with even if you are a MotoGP rider, and Marc Marquez has to be running out of lives.
I don’t want him to stop racing, I think that would be a real shame. But he needs to realise that the way he is riding is not sustainable. If he knocked the pace off a couple of percent, he’d still be one of the fastest riders in the world. And he’d still be in with a chance of winning the championship. Because MotoGP is a championship that’s as much about consistency, as it is about outright speed; as Joan Mir taught us in 2020.
So if you’re reading this, Marc… look after yourself, kid. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.
*diplopia is the fancy word for ’double vision’.
